does it really? weird ...

maybe, because the medical community finds all kinds of linked benefits to male sexual activity.

according to studies, regular sex in guys boosts immunity, reduces stress, and lessens aggression.

so writing a presecription for Viagra is indirectly writing a prescription for a dude to be healthier.

here's a lil' something from WebMD ...
http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/features/10-surprising-health-benefits-of-sex

... and something else via a random Cuil search ...
http://www.4-men.org/sexual-health/benefits-of-orgasm.html

conversely, the birth control pill offers a host of odd side effects, like acne, decreased sex drive, and a host of hypersensitivity.

here ...
http://women.emedtv.com/birth-control-pills/side-effects-of-birth-control-pills.html

... and here ...
http://www.medicinenet.com/oral_contraceptives_birth_control_pills/article.htm

and if we want to wax social morees/double-standards, we can attribute it to society's acceptance of male promiscuity as being, "oh, that's just what guys do!" where similar behavior in females is considered unsavory.

...

note that i'm not advocating any rationale. i'm just projecting what might be an explanation ...
Source(s):
included above ...

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I think that's because this is still deeply patriarchal, male dominated world.

Even in a country like the Netherlands, a model liberal society, women are often paid 10% less, on average, than their male counterparts doing the same job. This is achieved by adding virtual, non-existent "tasks" to man's job description. Sad, but true.
Source(s):
http://www.randomhouse.com/pantheon/paglia/world.html

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In my knee jerk opinion, it is a purely sexist situation. However, after some thought and research I realize that there is a religious bias to the problem too. The Catholic church considers contraceptive birth control immoral. Although there are states that are counteracting this, New York and California, by enacting laws that require employer provided health insurance plans to pay for birth control pills. There are many states that are considering changes in the law specifically because of the Viagra disparity.

What I find even more interesting is that cost of the pills. At one time, before state law, I had to pay out of pocket for OC. Just recently, there was a problem with the mail-order pharmacy, so I was going to be paying out-of-pocket for a prescription. The cost of the GENERIC prescription was now more expensive than the original name brand prescription from about 10 years before. When, in general, when a generic becomes available the prescription tends to become cheaper. Not the case in this instance.

http://socialissues.wiseto.com/Articles/183419558/
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/117556.php
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/20/nyregion/20courts.html?_r=2&oref=slogin
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Let me start out by saying that I think that health insurance plans should cover birth control, but I am going to play devil's advocate.

I don't think the reasoning for why they don't is all that far fetched. The real issue is how birth control pills relate to health. I hope we can all agree that ED is a serious health issue that should be covered.

Birth control pills on the other hand are USUALLY used purely to prevent conception. So is a health insurance plan responsible for paying for you to prevent conception? Usually health insurance is only liable to help treat and prevent illness, and so unless pregnancy is classified as an illness, it is not unreasonable to think that birth control wouldn't be covered.

Now I must add an important clarification. When birth control is being used for something other than preventing conception it is a different matter. You mention it is used for treating polycystic ovaries, and I know that it has many other important uses. In these cases, the medication is being used to treat a health issue, and ABSOLUTELY should be covered by all health insurance plans.

So in summary, your argument that birth control pills are similar to viagra works whenever the birth control is treating an actual disease. However when birth control pill are being used only to prevent conception, they are really more comparable to condoms. Condoms are very important to health as they both prevent conception and STDs. However they are not covered by health insurance.

The idea that it is some sort of vast sexist plot or something of that manner is I little extreme. As with most debated issues, it is a subtle difference between the way different people view different things. Furthermore, saying that people with the opposite view are sexist or patriarchal doesn't really help advance your idea, especially when you don't even explain why you feel this way.
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Aetna PPO seemed to cover it the last time I tried..but the generic versions
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